The projectiles disclosed in the afore-mentioned two applications generally include a plurality of pre-penetrator elements mounted in a casing one behind the other. The pre-penetrator elements of this projectile consist of an alloy of hard metal or metal of high density and the projectile also includes a main penetrator body which is axially disposed behind the pre-penetrator elements and contiguous thereto. This main penetrator body also is generally made of a metal of high density. By providing a plurality of pre-penetrator elements of different sizes or materials, a desired decrease in mass of the projectile arrangement is thereby realized so that, after penetration of a exterior armor, there remains sufficient projectile mass in the form of the main penetrator body for the penetration (i.e. destruction) of the main armor plating disposed behind the exterior armor.
Projectiles of the afore-described type are, at penetration of a plurality of target plates in a direction transversely to the longitudinal axis of the projectile, exposed to certain effective loads, which may lead to a premature bending failure (breaking) of the projectile. If the penetration channel is inclined with respect to the direct linear extension of the projectile flight path, the main penetrator body can, after impacting on the main armor, negatively affect the latter and thereby the effectiveness of the projectile in a very sensitive manner.
In accordance with the allowed and co-assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 412,794 the desired successive reduction of the pre-penetrators cores at penetration of the target is achieved in that the configuration of the abutting pre-penetrator elements and the mating surrounding casing are disigned in such a way that at an inclined impact of the projectile on the target certain transverse forces act on the pre-penetrator elements with adaptation for different targets so as to lead to a controlled pre-penetrator reduction. such a tolerating of the dimensioning has proven to be quite cumbersome. In view of the fact that the casing surrounding the pre-penetrator elements must in the known arrangement have the same wall thickness from front to back, the danger exist that it, as a result of the laterally acting forces, breaks prematurely at rearwardly located loci and thereby the desired effect of the successive breaking off of the individual pre-penetrator elements is not achieved.